Raul and Mourinho: Two Generations, One Debate on Real Madrid's Style of Play

Real Madrid opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Inter Milan, but plenty of Los Blancos fans left unhappy. Their side created a stream of clear chances yet still had to survive a nervy finish. Raul Gonzalez, the Real Madrid legend, made his debut as a pundit on Movistar to break down the win over Inter. "The best thing is that we got the three points," he said. "It wasn't easy because Inter Milan are a side with a very well-developed structure, and Real Madrid were suffering from absences in midfield." On those anxious closing minutes, he added: "Madrid's goals came from errors in building attacks, then they had very clear chances, and Inter's goal created some doubts at the end, but it's a good result to start the season." The broadcast then cut live to the Santiago Bernabeu, where Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho waited to deliver his own verdict on the match to the same channel. Somebody relayed Raul's diagnosis to him. The Portuguese looked visibly irritated, staring straight down the camera as he finished: "It wasn't all criticism, we did some good things too." Mourinho, whose tongue slipped into Italian for a few moments, then analysed the game. "I'd rather say it was a crazy match. There's a lot of criticism when a match is boring, but it was crazy today... It could easily have ended 7-6. Our midfield was weak, they made changes very early, and I didn't have much to work with in the centre of the pitch." He went on: "When I saw the players in a difficult position, I made changes, but I think the players put in a great performance. The match wasn't boring. We had chances to score a third goal in the final minute of the first half, but I agree with Raul that the goals came as a result of their errors. But I want to praise my players because pressing is something you train for, how to press, where to press, and hard work, and Valverde's goal was all the result of hard work. It's not just criticism, we did some good things." You can discuss topics and news in more depth on the Kooora forums.